Med Tech and Art

Again, this week one of the underlying themes I noticed was that of science and technology changing our perspective on ourselves and our world, with art following as a reaction to that new found understanding.

People have been dissecting human cadavers for centuries, and during the Renaissance it became important for artists to work with other researchers in this process to learn more about the human form and also artists helped in documenting the internal structures through visual media.

Ancient Egyptian mummification process, involving dissection of the dead

Fast forward and we have things like the Visible Human project, and even more forward to technology like X-Ray, MRI and CT scans. This video by Vox features videos produced by MRI scans that show the human experience through a very different lens, as one would see if they could cut open everyone and look inside



Drinking, speaking, playing instruments, sex, giving birth, and even using the restroom all look extremely different through this different lens, and of course this new found understanding of what is really going on when we do the things we do impacts our understanding of ourselves in radically different ways. Self perception has changed drastically since the technology has been introduced.

Artist Angela Palmer used MRI's to create the above piece, by layering MRI images on vertical sheets of glass to create a unique physical 3D view. Her inspiration for this piece comes from the idea of "mapping" the human body, and being able to understand it from the inside out and render it as such. 

But of course, it is not just about scientific technology influencing the psyche of the general population. Art seems to be a vital component too of making use of these new technologies, and a Forbes article describes that in the digital image based world of modern medicine, skills in evaluating visual art can help with physical diagnosis and interpretation of MRI's, CT scans, and X-Rays. The article goes into great detail about how "thinking in pictures" can lead to success in the field of medicine, which the article also admits is essentially an art itself. 

Sources:

1. "MRI Art Exhibit Captures Beauty Of Human Brain." The Creators Project. VICE, 20 Jan. 2014. Web. 24 Apr. 2015. 
<http://thecreatorsproject.vice.com/blog/mri-art-exhibit-captures-the-beauty-of-the-human-brain>

2. Glatter, Robert. "Can Studying Art Help Medical Students Become Better Doctors?" Forbes. Forbes Magazine, 20 Oct. 2013. Web. 25 Apr. 2015.
<http://www.forbes.com/sites/robertglatter/2013/10/20/can-studying-art-help-medical-students-become-better-doctors/>

3. Bamberg C, Rademacher G, Güttler F, et al. "Human birth observed in real-time open magnetic resonance imaging." Am J Obstet Gynecol 2012. Web. 25 Apr. 2015
<http://www.ajog.org/article/S0002-9378(12)00023-3/abstract>

4. "Inside Out: Body Imaging Sculptures by Angela Palmer." The Royal College of Surgeons of England. RCS, n.d. Web. 25 Apr. 2015.
<https://www.rcseng.ac.uk/museums/hunterian/exhibitions/archive/inside-out-body-imaging-sculptures-by-angela-palmer>

5. Vesna, Victoria. "Medicine pt1." YouTube Lecture. YouTube, 21 Apr. 2012. Web. 24 Apr. 2015.
<https://www.youtube.com/watch?t=74&v=Ep0M2bOM9Tk>